Help! My cat is attacking me!

[MarleysMommy]

I will be either sitting on the sofa, or walking up the stairs, and Marley will come along and literally lunge at me, biting my feet and legs.

I'm semi-sure he's playing, but it's rather painful. I've tried giving him a stern "NO!", but it doesn't work.

His fur gets all puffy, and his ears go back, so maybe he really is in attack mode?

Does anyone else's cat do this? Any ideas on what I can do to get him to stop?

[slick]

Welcome to PT. It so nice to see some new people on board.

Don't really know if I can be of much assistance as my two cats are 10 and 16 and playtime is very limited. Years ago when I did have kittens I used a spray bottle as a method of disipline. It worked for a time, but then they just got used to it and just sat there everytime I picked it up. You did not mention Marley's age. Is he young?? How about giving him more toys to play with then he will leave your legs alone. Just a thought. Do you have any pictures to post??

[MarleysMommy]

Marley is about 3 years old. He's done this since we adopted him (at about 10 months of age)

Here he is!

http://community.webshots.com/album/14234545zGAbjsHFoa

[Edwina's Secretary]

What a little cutie Marley is!

[Logan]

Oh dear........I have one of those too, and have no advice for you! My husband and I fell asleep "talking" about Butter last night....he is a holy terror....attacking for no reason. He is always especially bad when we leave for several days (as was the case yesterday). We had just returned from a 5 day trip, and he was quite inspired to bite and attack me.

Scott can't tolerate it. I just "do" tolerate it, knowing that no one would ever have Butter......and how in the world do you discipline a cat??

I love Butter.....and most folks would wonder why. I wish he were nicer, and I would do anything to make it that way, but I think he is just one of those nasty boys who isn't going to be 100% nice, although he does have his moments. I just know that if I were to attempt to get rid of him, he would never find another accepting home.....so it is me or the death chamber. I will choose to keep him, hope he bites only me, and try to give him the best life possible..

Logan

[HayleyRosie]

Marley is so cute! I love the picture that is called marleysofa.

Is Marley the only cat you have? If so, maybe you should consider getting a playmate for him. Hayley loved to attack peoples feet but since we bought Mandy home we have not had this problem. Mandy might think there is a problem though. LOL!

Good Luck

[MarleysMommy]

Thanks! The "marleysofa" pic was actually his Cat of The Day shot!

I'd love to get him a playmate! He's pretty clingy to my husband and me though. He won't be upstairs or downstairs without us for more than 5 minutes. I don't know how he would feel about sharing his affections?

[slick]

Oh Yea, I remember Marley. The sofa shot really gets to me....looks like a playboy centerfold shot What a sweetie!

[jenluckenbach]

Hello and Welcome. Marley is in desperate need of a playmate. Someone (a cat) who understands his rough and tumble needs.

[bluekat]

That sounds like the exact same thing that allways happens to me with Blueberry. With Blueberry, its playtime when that happens. His ears go all the way back too when he looks at me. I will run around, and he chases after me really fast, and jump up and grab onto my leg. he will also try to bite. But he's just trying to play.

[wolflady]

Welcome to Pet Talk, MarleysMommy! You'll just love it here, and I must say that Marley is a real cutie! I'm so sorry to hear about the troubles you are having with him. It's really hard to pinpoint what causes aggressive behavior sometimes, so don't get discouraged.
My guess, perhaps, would be that if he's been doing this since kittenhood, it could just be a learned play/aggression behavior. It's just more painful now that he's older. Actually, I have read that getting a playmate might help with aggressive behavior in some felines. That may be worth a shot. Bring a kitten into your household and see how Marley reacts.
In the meantime, whenever he does anything aggressive, say "NO!"(or shake a can of pennies, or squirt him with water) and then ignore him for 15 minutes. Praise him and give him treats when he's being nice. You may also want to try some feliway, as it has a calming effect on kitties. Good luck and do let us know how he's progressing!
**hugs**
Karen

[catland]

I've heard that rather than trying to train a cat - a better strategy is to distract the cat. A fur mouse or a ball or other kitty toy tossed AWAY from you might make Marley run the other way to play with it.

I re-visited his COTD pic. It was a classic (Jan 24th, 2003 for those who want to check him out)

Welcome to Pet Talk.

[Vio&Juni]

As many of you know, Juni is also very active. We have some toys - the famous Doggy



I think you can see she means business

Look at my brother's hand in the first picture, he will not let her even see the hand and if she gets close to the hand, we just leave the toy in her paws Try to keep Marley busy for a long time everyday, he's young and restless, he needs to work out and he does it on you. Buy him some toys that imply a lot of activity, some that he can play with by himself, like something hanging on an elastic string or like this. Don't play with him when he attacks you, just slowly take his paws off your legs or hands and ignore him, spoil his fun . After a while, take a toy and try to play with him showing him that he has to play with the toy.
Good luck.

Marley is a total cutie!

[cuddles02]

Originally posted by MarleysMommy
I will be either sitting on the sofa, or walking up the stairs, and Marley will come along and literally lunge at me, biting my feet and legs.

I'm semi-sure he's playing, but it's rather painful. I've tried giving him a stern "NO!", but it doesn't work.

His fur gets all puffy, and his ears go back, so maybe he really is in attack mode?

Does anyone else's cat do this? Any ideas on what I can do to get him to stop?

I have a male kitten that is 6 months old and he does the same thing to me. I can be lying in bed sometime he plung at me and scatch me and then when I am sitting down watching t.v.. And sometimes whenI am just standing doing something. I have wonder if anyone else had this problem. I would like to know to if you can do something about this. Please help me too.

[Russian Blue]

Since your cat has been doing this for a long while, Marley thinks that it is an acceptable behaviour. To change him from not doing it now, will be a longer process (than if he was still a kitten).

As others have mentioned, he probably would do well to get rid of some of his 'rough' playtime with another cat. If it is not possible to do get a second cat, you have to start training him not to do it.

Every time he lunges, try to have a stuffed animal available and put that between you and your leg. You have to try to show him that your leg is not an acceptable place to lunge at.

You also should 'ignore' him every time he does this. Take him off your leg, and put him in another room for a 'time out'. But, you have to do this *every* time this happens and most likely will be a long training strategy.

Whatever training plan you follow, you have to be consistent!

Last resort, try a Feliway plugin.


To cuddles02, since you have a kitten, again try keeping another object such a stuffed toy around and place it between you and the cat when he attacks. If the cat is small enough, you can also take cat and flip it on its back and hold him there for 5 - 10 seconds. Most kittens don't like to be held that way and will see it as a negative experience and stop the aggression.

The best way is to 'distract' the aggression/behaviour away from your body. Blow a 'puff' of air into their faces to distract or place an object like the stuffed animal between you and the cat.

Hope these suggestions help!